American Indian Prophecies: A Brief History on the Future of America

“American Indian Prophecies is not about the end of the world but, rather, a change of worlds–the beginning of a new Earth cycle.” – Ira Kennedy

This website is an educational tool that describes the prophecies of Black Elk, Wovoka, Rolling Thunder, Lame Deer, Sun Bear, and the Hopi. In sharing these prophecies Ira Kennedy examines the differences between Western and Aboriginal epistemologies and how expectations for the future differ. In contrast to the Western belief in Dooms Day, North American Indigenous beliefs focus on the concept of rebirth or the beginning of new Earth cycle. This may have something to do with the belief in circular time rather than the Western linear time.

Alaska Native Knowledge Network

This is an in-depth website on a series of topics that focus on Alaskan Native Knowledge. There are many resources available for visitors including topical publications, culturally-based curriculum resources for educators, cultural resources and cultural atlases. To be more specific, the website articulates that the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) “is an AKRSI partner designed to serve as a resource for compiling and exchanging information related to Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing. It has been established to assist Native people, government agencies, educators and the general public in gaining access to the knowledge base that Alaska Natives have acquired through cumulative experience.”

The Dreaming

This is an Australian Government website that describes in detail The Dreaming or the Creation Story of Australian Aborigines, the relationship between land, animals and people in The Dreaming, special ceremonies, star and family relationships. The website also provides useful links to Indigenous Australia Spirituality, Dreamings and culture symbols, Aboriginal astronomy, and legends, amongst a few others.

First Nations Healing

“…promoting self-governance in health and healing through discovery and by honouring traditional ways” – June Kaminski

This site focuses exclusively on the topic of First Nations health and healing practices. It explores the context and determinants of aboriginal health based on social, financial, cultural and geographic indicators. The site also links to Taiaiake Alfred’s Characteristics of Strong Indigenous Communities which exemplifies a perfect description on a healthy Aboriginal community. The website also provides a number of resources, such as supportive organizations or relevant facts and research, for visitors who are interested in exploring the topics of health and self-governance into further detail.

Art of Indigenous Storytelling, Music, Theater, Dance

“I am not here to accuse; you are not here to apologize” – Shannon Thunderbird

This website is a compilation of topics on North American indigenous diversity, history, culture and spiritual practices. It is a part of a larger site that is the home of Teya Peya Productions, a Canadian Indigenous Company that focuses on hosting speeches and workshops and provides life coaching, art and social justice education. The author of the website, Shannon Thunderbird, maintains that her website “dispels myths, stereotypes and biases about First Nations people by offering an accurate world view from an “Indian” perspective.

Aboriginal Educational Contexts

This site is a rich collection of “school-developed context-based teaching and learning projects collaboratively developed by teachers, Aboriginal education workers and local community members”. It presents projects dealing with Aboriginal Studies, Aboriginal Languages, Aboriginal Art, Quality Aboriginal Languages Teaching (QALT), School and Community Partnerships, and support material to assist secondary school teachers in delivering Aboriginal and Indigenous cross-curriculum content.

An Indigenous Model for Teaching and Learning

“Applied to education, the Medicine Wheel illustrates the necessity of attending to the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of learning and personal development.”

This site gives a very detailed overview of various approaches to instruction in Indigenous education. It introduces concepts such as the Medicine Wheel as a tool encompassing different dimensions of learning and personal development, along with other more familiar strategies such as storytelling, talking circles, concept mapping, concept webbing, critical thinking activities, experiential learning, and so forth.

First Nations Pedagogy Online

This site describes the meaning and importance of experiential learning in First Nations traditional teaching and learning. It presents a different interpretation of the uses of experiential learning that is categorized into four ‘villages’ and defined as “a spectrum of meanings, practices, and ideologies, which emerge out of the work and commitments of policy makers, educators, trainers, change agents, and ‘ordinary’ people all over the world”. The site also introduces the Experiential Learning Model and the First Nations Experiential Learning Cycle, as well as a community building exercise that utilizes these frameworks.

New Learning: Transformational designs for Pedagogy and Assessment

This website focuses on eight aboriginal ways of learning, a set of ‘interconnected pedagogies’ that take different forms depending on the surrounding context including: story sharing, learning maps, non-verbal skills, symbols and images to understand concepts, land links (place-based learning), non-linear thinking strategies, deconstruction/reconstruction of concepts and community links though the use of new knowledge.

Our Voices

“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may not remember; involve me and I’ll understand. (Native American Proverb)”

This site introduces the concepts involved in and the meaning of Indigenous Knowledge. It provides brief summaries into culturally based education, oral teaching and learning, experiential learning and holistic/relational learning. It introduces the first signed Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement (AEEA) that is meant to enhance the learning of all students in the Richmond School District and their knowledge about the history and culture of Aboriginal peoples. It also provides an outline of the opportunities available for students to get involved with hands on learning through various summer programs and workshops.